Town Meeting Is Coming

April 18, 2025

Welcome back!

Here’s what we have for you this week:

  1. Park and Recreation Commission Has a Big Night

  2. Plan to Attend Sudbury Town Meeting May 5

  3. 250 Years Ago: April 19th Was A Wednesday

  4. SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

Let’s get into it!

Park and Recreation Commission Has a Big Night

By Kevin LaHaise

The Monday, April 14 meeting of the Park and Recreation Commission was not a typical meeting for the commission. By the end of the evening, a commissioner had successfully advocated for the Finance Committee to reverse its vote on Article 44, residents had provided 30 minutes of public comment in support of renovating and preserving the Atkinson Pool, and two commissioners had delivered a forceful presentation on the utilization of the pool by various community groups.

Before the meeting was called to order, Chair Ben Carmel noted that public attendance at the meeting was the most he had ever seen. The public comments were uniformly in support of preserving and repairing the Atkinson Pool. Residents told personal stories about their experiences at the pool, outlined the benefits of having a community pool, and advocated fiercely for keeping it for the good of the community. (28:00)

Soon after public comment began, commissioner Granger Atkeson left to join the Finance Committee meeting, which was happening at the same time. He provided information to clarify the Finance Committee’s understanding of Article 44 on the Annual Town Meeting warrant. The commission had earlier discussed that the Finance Committee didn’t seem to have accurate information when they voted to oppose the article. Atkeson explained to the Finance Committee that the article would fund the installation of a pavilion and a second multi-sport court at the community center, in addition to the design and planning of other amenities at the Fairbank Community Center and Haskell Field. (1:07:00)

Two members of the Finance Committee expressed that they were previously under the impression that the $500,000 of Community Preservation Act funding at stake in Article 44 was solely for “focus groups” and design services. Once Atkeson cleared up that it would fund the construction of tangible assets, it appeared that their votes may shift.

Later in the evening, the Finance Committee voted seven in favor and two opposed to reconsider their position on Article 44. (1:53:00) They went on to vote seven in favor and two opposed to the article. Their prior vote on the article was four in favor and five opposed. With that vote, Atkeson had secured critical support for the article at Town Meeting. The warrant has already gone to print, but the Finance Committee can report their change of position on the floor of Town Meeting.

Back in the Park and Recreation Commission meeting, Members Mara Huston and Laurie Eliason later delivered a presentation on pool usage and benefits. They shared that the pool is open 7 days a week for a total of 85 hours. The presentation highlighted heavy use of the pool by residents of all ages, including highly accomplished Sudbury swim teams, and a variety of vendors and other swim teams across the region.

This is still a developing story, as the Town is waiting on bids for the renovation work at the Atkinson Pool. Combined Facilities Director Sandra Duran explained the status of the bids to the commissioners during their meeting. The commission will be meeting again on April 29 to discuss the details once the Town has all the information. Town Meeting starts on Monday, May 5.

Plan to Attend Sudbury Town Meeting May 5

By The League of Women Voters of Sudbury

Annual Town Meeting is the legislative body of Sudbury, and the registered voters who attend are the legislators. Town Meeting votes on bylaws, spending (including budgets and borrowing), resolutions, and more. This year’s Town Meeting begins Monday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, 390 Lincoln Road. Town Meeting is likely to continue Tuesday, May 6, and may continue Wednesday, May 7, and Monday, May 12, if necessary.  

Sudbury has an “open” town meeting, which means that all Sudbury registered voters are eligible to vote. The deadline to register to vote before Town Meeting is Friday, April 25, at 5 p.m. Check your voter registration status or register to vote here.

You must be present at Town Meeting to vote. There is no remote or absentee voting.  

The Town Meeting Warrant lists the basic rules and procedures for conducting Town Meeting and provides information about each of the articles – including sponsors, what the article would do, the vote count required to pass the article, and whether the article is supported by the Select Board and Finance Committee. It includes a finance section with budget information, estimated tax impact of warrant articles, historical finance data, and a glossary of budget terms.

Every household in Sudbury will be mailed a paper copy of the Town Meeting Warrant, and a digital copy is available here. Review the information in the warrant carefully prior to the meeting and make a note of any questions or comments. The sponsor of each article will make a presentation and take questions and comments from the voters. You can find a table of all the articles with supplementary information, if available, here.

Information on accessibility and available accommodations is available here; scroll down to see both pages. It is also listed in the paper copy of the warrant. The town states: “Persons requiring an accommodation in order to attend Town Meeting are urged to contact the Sudbury Senior Center at 978-443-3055 or [email protected] as soon as possible and at the latest by Tuesday, April 29, at 4 p.m.” 

Van transportation is available for qualified voters. According to the town website, “the Sudbury Connection van service, through the Sudbury Senior Center and MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA), will provide free accessible transportation to and from Town Meeting. If you are a registered rider, please reserve a ride to Sudbury Town Meeting by Thursday, May 1, at 4 p.m. by calling 508-820-4650. If you are not registered as a rider, please contact the Sudbury Senior Center to register at 978-443-3055 and complete an application by Wednesday, April 30 at 4 p.m. For details, please contact the Senior Center at 978-443-3055 or [email protected].”

For all other voters, parking is available in the high school parking lot. Enter the lot through the driveway on Lincoln Road east of the high school building. Handicapped parking spaces are available in the lot at the front of the school building and in the main parking lot.

There will be designated seating in the front of the auditorium for those with hearing or vision impairment, and closed captioning screens are available. Those who wish to use a phone or other device to view the captions may do so at this link. Seating for those with mobility impairments is available at the rear of the auditorium.

According to the town website: “Assisted listening services are available through the Audio Fetch app, available on iOS and Android devices. A QR code to direct you to where to download the app will be available at Town Meeting or you can download the app in advance via the links below:

 • Apple Store 

“Please bring your own headphones to use Fetch on your device. If you do not own a smart phone or tablet and/or headphones, please contact the Sudbury Senior Center at 978-443-3055 or [email protected] as soon as possible, and at the latest by Tuesday, April 29, at 4 p.m. so that an accommodation may be arranged.”

You can learn more about town meetings in the Citizen’s Guide to Town Meeting and here. 

250 Years Ago: April 19th Was A Wednesday

By Jan Hardenbergh

250 years ago, April 19th was a Wednesday. Very early in the morning about 342 men of the Sudbury Companies of Minute Militia marched out of Sudbury and on to Concord. They engaged the Red Coats and pursued them, fighting along the way, through Lexington and ended up in Cambridge. They did not return to Sudbury until the following Monday, April 24th; they stayed there five days! That was the beginning of the siege of Boston. Also on April 24th, John Nixon was commissioned Colonel by Massachusetts and a regiment was organized under his command.

We actually know very little of what actually transpired for the militia of Sudbury on the 19th. We know that the Sudbury companies marching on the west side of the Sudbury River were met near the South bridge of Concord and directed to go around to the north. We have Ezekiel Howe's quote “If any blood has been shed, not one of the rascals shall escape.” We know the East Militia attacked at Hardy's Hill.

Most certainly we know that Deacon Haynes and Asahel Reed gave their last full measure of devotion on April 19th, 1775.

  • Asahel Reed age 22 Killed near Hartwell's Tavern, Lincoln (probably)

  • Josiah Haynes age 80 Killed at Concord Hill, which is indicated as being in Lexington in the articles below.

Other narratives

Unfortunately, detailed information concerning Sudbury's role in the battle is not clear. Before we add color to the events above, here is a list of good articles:

The South Bridge

We know that Capt. John Nixon, Lt. Col. Ezekiel Howe and Capt. Aaron Haynes were met near the South bridge of Concord and directed to go around to the North Bridge. 

From Merriam's biography of Nixon, (see more below) and Nixon's minute men arrived there early and found the bridge held by British. His men were eager to attack but orders the had been received from Colonel Barrett to halt and in no case to begin the fight. Old Deacon Haynes, nearly eighty years old, said to his captain, "If you don't go and drive them British from that bridge, I shall call you a coward," but Nixon replied, "I should rather be called a coward by you, than called to account by superior officers for disobedience of orders. We are reference to this incident Bancroft refers to the Sudbury captain "as the brave Nixon." His control over his impatient men, with the taunt of cowardice thrown in his face, is evidence of a superior order of bravery. In the pursuit of the British to Cambridge the Sudbury men were foremost and the old deacon was among the killed.

Hudson Shattuck says, “Two companies from Sudbury under How , Nixon and Haynes came to Concord, and having received orders from a person stationed at the entrance of the town, for the purpose of a guide, to proceed to the North instead of the South Bridge, arrived near Col. Barrett's just before the British soldiers retreated.” The same author, after speaking of what we have just narrated of Lieutenant Colonel How, states, “Before proceeding far, the firing began at the Bridge, and the Sudbury companies pursued the retreating British.” From these statements and facts, we may infer this,– that these companies passed the British at Colonel Barrett's and pushed on to meet the force at the bridge, that before they joined it the foe made his attack and that they joined in the hot pursuit. This theory accords with the statement that we have quoted before, as made by a survivor of the fight, which is that “Sudbury Companies were but a short distance from the North Bridge when the first Opposition was made to the Haughty Enemy.”

Ezekiel Howe's quote

Colonel How exclaimed:

“If any blood has been shed not one of the rascals shall escape!”

Hudson: In accordance with Colonel Barrett's command,Captains Nixon and Haynes with Lieut. Col. Ezekiel How started, as we have stated, for the old north bridge. When at the South bridge they were on the westerly side of Concord village, while the North bridge was a little to the north of east. Their way, therefore, was by something of a circuitous course; and, to reach the point to which they were ordered, they were to pass the house of Colonel Barrett, a mile and a half north-west of the village, where Captain Parsons with three British companies were destroying Continental stores. When the Sudbury soldiers came within sight of Colonel Barrett's house they came to a halt. Before them were the British engaged in their mischievous work. Gun carriages had been collected and piled together to be burned, the torch already had been applied, and the residence of their Colonel had been ransacked. They halted, and Colonel How exclaimed,“ If any blood has been shed not one of the rascals shall escape!” and, disguising himself, he rode on to ascertain the truth. It was, probably, not far from nine o'clock when this event took place. This indicates the celerity with which the Sudbury troops had moved.

Hardy’s Hill

Hudson: The other engagement in which the Sudbury soldiers are especially noticed was at Hardy’s Hill, a short distance beyond. One narrator has spoken of it as a spirited affair, where one of the Sudbury companies, Captain Cudworth, came up and vigorously attacked the enemy. Brooks Hill NPS Page

Deacon Haynes and Asahel Reed

We do not know how many of Capt. Jabez Puffer’s 60 men Alarm List joined in the fight that day, but we do know that Deacon Josiah Haynes  was among them.

Hudson: During the day Sudbury sustained the loss of two men. Deacon Josiah Haynes and Asahel Reed. Joshua Haynes was wounded. Deacon Haynes was eighty years old. He was killed by a musket bullet at Lexington. He belonged to the old Haynes family of Sudbury, where his descendants still live. He was one of the original signers of the West Precinct Church Covenant, and was made deacon May 24, 1733. He was buried in the Old Burying Ground, Sudbury Centre. The grave is marked by a simple slate stone. Mr. Asahel Reed was of Captain Nixon's minute men. His name is found on that company's call roll to which we have before referred; it is left out after the battle, probably because after his death the name was stricken from the list. He belonged to the old Reed family of Sudbury, whose progenitor, Joseph Reed, settled at Lanhara about 1656.

Captain John Nixon

THE MILITARY RECORD OF BRIGADIER GENERAL
JOHN NIXON
BY JOHN M. MERRIAM
REPRINTED FROM THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY FOR APRIL, 1926

With the approach of the Revolution he organized a large company of minute men from Sudbury, of which he was captain, and he led this company to Concord early on the 19th of April, 1775. In the accounts that day most of the attention has been given to of what took place at the North bridge, and but little attention given to the South bridge. This was in the line of approach from Sudbury, and Nixon's minute men arrived there early and found the bridge held by British. His men were eager to attack but orders the had been received from Colonel Barrett to halt and in no case to begin the fight. Old Deacon Haynes, nearly eighty years old, said to his captain, "If you don't go and drive them British from that bridge, I shall call you a coward," but Nixon replied, "I should rather be called a coward by you, than called to account by superior officers for disobedience of orders. We are reference to this incident Bancroft refers to the Sudbury captain "as the brave Nixon." His control over his impatient men, with the taunt of cowardice thrown in his face, is evidence of a superior order of bravery. In the pursuit of the British to Cambridge the Sudbury men were foremost and the old deacon was among the killed.

Middlesex County minute men arriving in Cambridge remained there under arms almost to a man and on the 24th of April commissions were issued and enlistments sought for definite service. John Nixon was commissioned Colonel by Massachusetts April 24, and a regiment was organized under his command…

We should be proud of our town’s history on that day. You can join the muster at 5:30 on the common in front of Town Hall across the street from the Sudbury Meetinghouse. The First Parish bells will peal at 5:45. At 4 PM there will be a concert at the Wayside Inn. For more information see: https://sudbury.ma.us/sudbury250/2025/04/14/plan-ahead-patriots-day-weekend-2025/ 

SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

Features

News

Opinion

Events

time calendar GIF by Daniela Sherer

Parting Thoughts

With Town Meeting incoming, and printed warrants coming soon to a mailbox near you, it’s about the time that most of Sudbury’s citizen legislators start reviewing the articles and thinking about their positions.

But are all the answers really in the pages of the warrant?

Not every Sudbury resident has taken a swim in the Atkinson Pool. Even fewer have probably toured the Hosmer House. Perhaps a few more have attended a “touch a truck” and stepped inside a fire engine. Those are all items on the Town Meeting warrant. While not every resident is a consumer of every Town service, town meeting gives every registered voter the opportunity to vote on them.

Perhaps the best way to prepare for Town meeting is to experience something new to you in Sudbury.

There are three articles on the warrant that would invest significant Community Preservation Act funds in the Hosmer House. How many people will cast their vote without having stepped inside the house?

One opportunity to get inside is the upcoming open house at the Hosmer House. It’s on April 27 at 1 P.M.

Family lane rentals are an inexpensive way to experience the Atkinson Pool. It’s the subject of Article 44.

The Sudbury Fire Department openly welcomes visitors. They’re pursuing funding for a new fire engine and an ambulance on the Town Meeting warrant.

It’s probably not feasible, safe, or smart (or legal?) to climb up onto the Haynes and Nixon roofs for inspection. But those articles are expected to be pushed off until a Fall Town Meeting anyway.

Annual Town Meeting is an open invitation for citizens to serve as legislators. But regardless of how you vote on the articles, town meeting is often a reminder to experience some of the things that make Sudbury… Sudbury.

To that point, don’t forget the 250th festivities will be in full force tomorrow. Details here and here.

Onward!